


Bloody Family Ties

by BeStillMySlashyHeart



Series: AK ficlets [2]
Category: Animal Kingdom (TV)
Genre: M/M, Pope makes a silent cameo, Relationship Talks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 12:55:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14934654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeStillMySlashyHeart/pseuds/BeStillMySlashyHeart
Summary: Someone just broke into the bar and Adrian's naked in bed and all his clothes are downstairs in the bar. Fucking fantastic.Or Adrian gets a rude awakening by the Codys and he and Deran have a much needed chat





	Bloody Family Ties

**Author's Note:**

> set some time after Adrian comes back from the circuit 
> 
> written after 3x03

Adrian jolted awake at the sound of the front door slamming shut. He stumbled out of bed in search of his clothes. He only found his boxers before remembering that he hadn’t exactly been fully clothed by the time he got up to the bed. The rest of his clothes were likely scattered around the bar. 

He quickly decided to hide rather than investigate. Tucking himself against the wall behind a cabinet he silently cursed Deran for going surfing without him. He’d much rather have the other man here for this. It was his bar after all. 

Down below there was a lot cursing and rummaging around but not a whole lot of talking. Adrian couldn’t make out any voices. He was thinking maybe whoever shot Baz was going for all the Cody’s when a loud “Fuck” rang through the air. 

Adrian started to relax. That voice he knew. 

To his right, the ladder shook as if someone below had grabbed hold. He started to step away from the wall just as Craig’s head cleared the landing.

“Shit. Adrian. Hi.” Craig greeted him. He obviously wasn’t expecting to see anyone other than his brother. “Where’s Deran?” 

“Surfing. He left a little while ago.” 

“Shit.” Craig cursed again. “How long? Could I catch him? Or is on his way back?”

Adrian started towards the ladder. “I’m not sure. I was still half asleep when he left. It’s definitely been a while so you wouldn’t be able to catch him before he started but he might be on his way back soon.” He paused. “Are um-are my clothes down there?”

Craig looked at him confused before his face cleared. He looked over his shoulder. “Um-maybe? I haven’t really been paying attention. Pope got shot.”

“Fuck”

Adrian looked around the attic loft and quickly grabbed some of Deran’s clothes. The other man was a little smaller than him but he typically wore clothes that were a little large so it should be okay. Dressing quickly he made his way down the ladder and joined Craig where he stood in the bar. 

Looking at the scene which greeted him he let another quiet expletive. “What do you need? I can go find Deran or-“ 

“There’s no time. Do you know if he has any first aid crap lying around? Or old towels that we can use?”

“I need water and some pliers.” J called across the room. Adrian looked at the kid. He and two women were holding Pope down on the bar top and J was looking under what looked like Adrian’s bloodied, balled up t-shirt looking at Pope’s chest. “I think the bullet’s still in him. We need to get it out.”

Adrian turned back to Craig only to find the other man already staring at him. “Do you know where Deran keeps his shit or not?”  
Adrian nodded before turning and getting to work.

 

An hour or five later Adrian was slumped on the floor of the kitchen, backed up against the cabinet. He rested his arms on his knees, careful to keep his hands away from the rest of his body (don’t think about the blood) and his head slumped forward. He felt more than saw someone settle next to him. He didn’t bother lifting his head to check who it was. 

Deran had come in about 30 minutes after his brothers arrived. It almost pained Adrian to remember it. Deran had had a smile on his face and he brought home breakfast from that place Adrian liked and he knew-he just knew- that Deran had been planning to have a lazy morning in bed with him. Only to come face to face with the reality of his family. Adrian had watched the smile fall of Deran’s face and a hard look settle in its place. He hadn’t liked it then and he didn’t like thinking about it now. Deran had made huge steps in getting away from this very scenario. But it had caught up to him anyway.

He jolted a bit when he felt something wet touch his hands. He lifted his head only to see Deran holding a washcloth over his hands. He was hovering.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He said softly. “Just thought you would want your hands clean.” Adrian didn’t answer. Only nodded. 

They sat there silently with Deran cleaning his brother’s blood off of Adrian’s hands. When the rag was bloodied instead of his skin, Deran tossed it across the room into the sink. 

“You okay?” He asked. He still hadn’t raised his voice above a quiet murmur.

“Are you?” Adrian retorted. “You came real close to losing another brother today. And I-“

Deran waited to see if he would say anything more but Adrian stayed quiet. “Yeah. It was close. But Pope’s gonna be ok. They got him here in time and we got him patched up ok.” He nudged Adrian. “And you helped with that. You helped to save my brother’s life.”

“I couldn’t let you lose another one.” Adrian said softly. “But I don’t want to do that ever again. I don’t want-“

“You won’t have to. I promise. You will never have to deal with our jobs or the fallout from them again.” Deran assured him.

“Thank you for that but this isn’t something you can promise me.” Adrian shot back. “No one intended for me to be involved with this. I just happened to be here when they came looking for you.”

Deran didn’t respond. Adrian turned to look at him for the first time since Deran had joined him. The other man looked – sad was really the only word Adrian could think of. It was a stark contrast to his return from the beach earlier. He reached over and grabbed Deran’s hand.

“Just-just promise me you will try.” He asked. “I know that being with you means I accept a certain amount of—access to your family and your lifestyle. But just promise me that you will keep the blood and the dying as far away as you can.”  
“I promise.” Deran said quickly. “I know how much you don’t want to be a part of this. And I am sorry-“

“Can we save the heavy conversation for another time?” Adrian begged. “I don’t have it in me to have the big conversation just now. Just- I want to be with you. And I know what that entails. But I am just asking there to be some boundaries.”

“I got it. I will do my best.”

“Thank you. Now that all goes out the window if it’s you, okay? If you’re hurt, you better call me or have Craig call me or something. Because I do not want to be left in the dark wondering what’s happening with you.” 

Deran nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay.” Adrian leaned over to rest his head against Deran’s. 

They sat in silence for a long moment before something occurred to Adrian. “When you came back from the beach, you had a bag from Mama’s bakery. Did you get the donuts I like?” 

Deran huffed out a small laugh before bursting out into uncontrollable giggles. Adrian stared in amazement. 

“Yeah I got your fucking donuts.” He leaned over and gave Adrian a quick, hard kiss before getting up and going in search of their forgotten breakfast.

**Author's Note:**

> I have very little impulse control. I got an idea for a story and so I started writing. It went in a completely different direction than I had intended but oh well it got written and I didn't want to proofread it or wait to post it so here it is


End file.
